The University of New Mexico's Innovation Academy published its 2018-2019 annual impact report this week. The report illustrates and highlights the positive impact the academy continues to have on students at the University.

The 20-page report outlines the Innovation Academy’s growth, both in terms of student participation numbers and in the number of successful student-run companies during the 2018-2019 school year. Again, this year’s report showcases the Academy’s exponential growth, going from 36 student-run companies in 2017-18 to 54 in 2018-2019.

“We have had another successful year of seeing our students transform into entrepreneurs and creative problem solvers,” said Innovation Academy Executive Director Rob DelCampo.

Programs like the academy’s second Tech Navigator Challenge, where students worked to commercialize technologies from national labs, saw larger participation from more majors than before and produced several viable commercialization ideas that are currently moving forward.

The Innovation Academy plans to continue to grow and offer more support to students seeking a way to integrate innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship into their degree programs at UNM.

“We have some exciting programs on tap for the coming year; we run this program entirely on grant and gift funds---we are so grateful for all the community support we’ve received and so proud of our student outcomes,” DelCampo said.

The report is available, both online and print formats, on the Innovation Academy website. Interested individuals may also stop by the Innovation Academy office, located in the Lobo Rainforest building at 101 Broadway NE, for a printed 5x7 booklet.

For more information, contact Tiffini Porter at tjp0217@unm.edu.